A public works employee was caught barking up the wrong tree, after she successfully filed claims to her health insurance firm, for her pet.

The worker made two claims – one in 2008 and one in 2009- but was only caught when another civil servant sniffed her out. After an internal investigation, the woman was forced the pay back the money.

The insurance company that manages the Public Service Health Care Plan, said it takes fraud seriously but refused to comment on the case as did the federal Treasury Board, which oversees the plan.

One critic argued however that stricter regulations need to be put into place, so a similar incident can be avoided.

Pat Martin said he has concerns about both the way the disclosure act is being used to refuse information as well as questions about how the Public Service Health Care Plan is being managed if people are trying to claim health benefits for pets. “We need to know the extent of this kind of abuse,” he said.